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WELLLLLLLlllllll here is just the thing we did not want to see. Although it was not a volunteer EMS person in a POV it still reflects poorly on us all since the general public won't diferentiate between Fire and EMS.

(Old Lyme, CT) -- A Waterford volunteer firefighter has been arrested on charges that he impersonated a police officer. Police in Old Lyme say 47-year-old Charles McDougal of Niantic used a blue flashing light on his dashboard to pull over a woman on Lyme Street. The woman told State Police that she believed McDougal's small SUV was a police vehicle, so she pulled over. McDougal reportedly yelled at the woman that he did not like the way she was driving, then reached through her window and hit her in the face. In addition to impersonating an officer, McDougal is also charged with improper use of flashing lights, third degree assault and breach of peace.

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David, your comment about the soccer mom van made me remember this one guy who actually put a full size lightbar, the old wheelen rotator bars, on top of his Ford Aerostar, which was one of the early models, probably an 89-90 year model... oh well.

Also in the early 90's there were several cases of people using single blue dashlights to stop/attempt to stop women on deserted or dark streets, with obivously less than legal intent.

David E. Courter said:

Doc82 - valid points thanks ! I had to laugh when I thought about the Alabama provision for commandeering RLS equipped POVs - all I could see was a stereotypical deep south sheriff type of guy commandeering our former chief's socceer mom van to chase after the bad guys ! LOL ! Thanks for the chuckle!

WOW I remember the old Whelen bars with all the incandesant lights and the rotating motors what did you need like 4,000 amps???? One of our chiefs had one that dimmed his headlights so much you thought his car was going to stall! Have a Great weekend all !

After reading through all of this I think the lesson to be taken away is that every state, city, town, wide-spot-in-the-road, and department is different. Some of the early replies with users being universally critical of the use of lights and sirens on private vehicles are totally out of line. I have used lights in a vehicle before and I do believe that in the right town and under the right laws - they can be a tool to decrease response times.

However, I have also witnessed POV L/S systems that caused more chaos than could possibly be safe for the public. To universally say this is a bad system is simply ignorant. There are places in this country where the use of POV L/S is a necessity and there are places where its completely unnecessary. You simply can't make one ruling on their utility for every town in America.

Colin - Thank you sir! Now that we have closed the door on that side arguement maybe, just maybe, we can get back to the original question posed by Andrew PD Steeves back in early Decemeber. He innocently asked what lighting equipment people were running on their POVs and a mini war broke out ! And here we are, 5 pages later!

Leave it to ArticKat to stir the pot in the middle of every discussion he joins! He keeps us on our toes!

Andrew, YouTube is a great place to poke around for info on what folks have on their POVs with the added benefit of being able to actually see the results via video. If you're just starting out and do not have a big budget I have gotten some very good deals on eBay but Craigslist,com has been even better (although the selection is very slim) because you can go and actually see the equipment before buying it since you can limit Craigslist.com to just local listings.

My goal with my POV was to keep it very low key almost undercover. See there is no secrity in a jeep with a soft top so you do not want anyone casually casing vehicles to break into to be attracted to your jeep by all sorts of bells and whistles.

I have a 3-module (red/white/red) CopStick mounted over my rearview mirror and it is very effective even in daylight. Since it is mounted up so high and inside the cab it tends to be in the shadows most of the time which inncreases its effectiveness as well as keeps it low-profile. When it is off you hardly notice that it is there. I have the typical wig-wag setup for the headlights.

Rear facing I have a Axixtech Xtreme 6 Grill Light (split color Red/Amber) LED. It is mounted high up and inside like the CopStick is up front. I get the same benefits of shadowing and low profile. When it is not on, it just looks like a third brake light. Also being up high it gives more warning when I am stopped on the highway. I plan an adding something else rear facing because that is a big safety issue for me.

The siren I have is a very very basic, and old Carson 100 W unit I got used from someone on Craigslist. For the number of times I will use it I am sure it will last me many years.

Way up on my roof rack I have 2 forward facing driving lights that I can use to light up the road when I go off roading as well as at an accident scene if needed until rescue arrives.

I bought the CopStick and Axixtech LED from Mike Miller at NWA Public Safety (nwapublicsafetysupply.com) and am very happy with the service I got and the products they sell.

There is a reason the vehicles are Ambulances, Fire Trucks, and Police vehicles... putting lights and sirens on your vehicle make's you a target for lawsuits. It's best to just use the tools of your work when you are at work. F running them on my personal vehicle when I'm off I'm off I don't give a crap anymore until I'm back on LoL.

Wow alot of heated responses on this.
In Ohio, only volunteer Fire Deparments and EMS Departments allow there personel to have Emergency lights and Sirens on their POV's. Even then it is dependent on the SOP's and Chief of each department if there guys can have this. The state has laws allowing POV responses with emergency lights and sirens. All POV's are required to pass an inspection every year. Ohio Fire and EMS volunteers are allowed to have Red lights or Red/White lights on there vehicle. ALL ARE REQUIRED TO DIRVE WITH DUE REGARD when responding to the station or scene just like if you where driving the Ambulance or Fire Truck.

So this is the thing, only put lights on your vehicle if you are allowed first. Then, only do it if you need it to be able to get to the station or scene in a quick but safe matter.

When I was on the local volunteer Fire deparment, we were allowed to have lights and sirens. There was no limit to what you had so you will always have that guy that puts more lights on his POV then the trucks have. I wasn't that guy. I lived a block away from my station so I didn't put lights on my car. I was always the first one there and I drove the Speed limit or a mile or two over. But if I had need to I would have put LED lights on my car. They are visible in day and night and the price is coming down on them. Plus, you'll get a better lifetime out of them then regular lighting.

Everyone has there opinion on the situation some for and some against, then those who don't understand at all. In america sometimes we call the Ambulance a "Rig" that doesn't mean a semi-truck.

As long as there are volunteer services there will be areas where the need for responders to have Lights and Sirens on their POVs is necessary for that service to function to help the citizens in need.

Basiclly, If your not allowed lights on your car you probably shouldn't have them. In some states that is illegal.